Capital Punishment

Capital Punishment

History

The first recorded death sentence in the British North American

colonies was carried out in 1608 on Captain George Kendall, who was

executed by firing squad at the Jamestown colony for allegedly spying

for the Spanish government.

Pros:

Cost of living in prison

Population in prison

Safety

Deter crime

Closure to victims families

Cons:

Prison may deter crime

more

Not Humane

Fairness

Wrongly Convicted

Appeals

http://www.kxan.com/dpps/news/national/south/carter-says-execution-exposes-flaws-in-death-penalty-nt11-jgr_3947504

Category: State Information

State Abbreviation: CO

State Name: Colorado

Death Penalty? Yes

Number of Executions Since 1976: 1

Number of Executions before 1976: 101

Current Death Row Population: 4

Women on Death Row 0

Date Death Penalty Re-enacted: 01/01/1975

1st Execution After Re-enactment: 1997

Murder Rate (per 100,000): 2.4

Is Life Without Parole an Option? Yes

Can a defendant get death for a felony in which s/he was not responsible for the murder? Yes

Number of Innocent Persons Freed From Death Row: 0

Number of Clemencies Granted: 0

Method: Injection

How is the Sentence Determined?Jury

Location of Death Row(s): Sterling

Clemency Process: Governor has sole authority to grant clemency

Category: State Information

State Abbreviation: TX

State Name: Texas

Death Penalty? Yes

Number of Executions Since 1976: 475

Number of Executions before 1976: 755

Current Death Row Population: 321

Women on Death Row 10

Date Death Penalty Re-enacted: 01/01/1974

1st Execution After Re-enactment: 1982

Murder Rate (per 100,000) 5

Is Life Without Parole an Option? Yes

Can a defendant get death for a felony in which s/he was not responsible for the murder? Yes

Number of Innocent Persons Freed From Death Row: 12

Number of Clemencies Granted: 2

Method: Injection

How is the Sentence Determined? Jury

Location of Death Row(s):Livingston (Women: Gatesville)

Clemency Process: Governor must have the Board of Pardons and Paroles recommendation for clemency.

A social scientist could approach this topic from many different perspectives.

Economics - Cost of living in prison VS Cost of capital punishment.

History - How methods and social views of the death penalty have evolved.

Civics:

Republican and Democratic stance on death penalty.

Individual state policies

Activity:

Students would be split into two equal groups at random; each group would have to research the death penalty. After researching the issue, the two groups would have a debate. Each side would have to argue what side they were assigned regardless of their personal views. This would be a good activity because it would show both sides views and arguments of the issue. After the debate, students would be able to form their own personal opinions.

Nick McGuffee

References:

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment

http://deathpenalty.org

Death row inmates in the U.S. typically spend over a decade awaiting execution. Some prisoners have been on death row for well over 20 years.

During this time, they are generally isolated from other prisoners, excluded from prison educational and employment programs, and sharply restricted in terms of visitation and exercise, spending as much as 23 hours a day alone in their cells.

This raises the question of whether death row prisoners are receiving two distinct punishments: the death sentence itself, and the years of living in solitary confinement – a severe form of punishment that may be used only for very limited periods for general-population prisoners.

Moreover, unlike general-population prisoners, even in solitary confinement, death-row inmates live in a state of constant uncertainty over when they will be executed. For some death row inmates, this isolation and anxiety results in a sharp deterioration in their mental status.

There have been numerous forms of execution used in the United States,

but now, the only form carried out is lethal injection.

Compared to...

Texas

Colorado

Description:

"Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by judicial process as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally "regarding the head". Hence a capital crime was originally one punished by severing the head from the body"

Content Area: Social Studies

Standard: Civics

Grade Level Expectation: High School Concepts and skills - Research, formulate positions, and engage in approprate civic participation to address local, state, and national issues or policies.